medawyn Posted March 23, 2018 Share Posted March 23, 2018 Someone in some thread (<----- helpful, I know) posted a link to a system for organizing paperwork that they have been utilizing and loving. I think it might even have been something to purchase. Other suggestions welcome. Visits to come and do it for me even more welcome. I'll cook! Help me tame my paper clutter AND be productive during the Great WTM Blackout, pretty please. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted March 23, 2018 Share Posted March 23, 2018 (edited) What kind of paperwork? First step would be to see if any of it can be eliminated by going electronic: utility bills, for example. We use binders. Separate binders for home, auto, medical, taxes, college stuff etc. When the binder gets too full, go through it an discard old papers that no longer need to be kept. Edited March 23, 2018 by regentrude 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marbel Posted March 23, 2018 Share Posted March 23, 2018 I think but am not sure that someone posted about the Freedom Filer system. The picture looks familiar. IIRC, the person said it was wonderful. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
medawyn Posted March 23, 2018 Author Share Posted March 23, 2018 What kind of paperwork? First step would be to see if any of it can be eliminated by going electronic: utility bills, for example. We use binders. Separate binders for home, auto, medical, taxes, college stuff etc. When the binder gets too full, go through it an discard old papers that no longer need to be kept. It’s the longish storage paperwork that gets me: taxes, medical bills/records, etc. I struggle with filing them efficiently and knowing how long to keep them. My ADD husband and his paper piles does not help. I need a better system for me and proof for him that every receipt does not need to be kept indefinitely. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
medawyn Posted March 23, 2018 Author Share Posted March 23, 2018 I think but am not sure that someone posted about the Freedom Filer system. The picture looks familiar. IIRC, the person said it was wonderful. That looks familiar to me, too. At the very least, a good place to start. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alessandra Posted March 24, 2018 Share Posted March 24, 2018 (edited) I can give you a perspective from someone who is older, been around for many years, and accumulated a *lot* of papers. Some can be noted and discarded, but others -- taxes, mortgages, investments, legal documents -- may be ones that you want to keep. No matter how neatly you file, it adds up to a lot of file cabinets. I ended up sorting out older documents that I wanted to keep into 1" and 1 1/2" inexpensive vue binders from Amazon and putting those into bankers boxes. Very, very organized, but still too much. I started scanning things on s Canon printer with document feed. Much better, time-consuming, but a good way to go. I ended up getting a dedicated document scanner, fast, but $$$, and not the way most people would go, IMO, though it works for me. I agree with Regentrude that, if you can start by getting as much as possible digitally, that is a good way to go. A good book on papers is Nolo's Getting It Together. Wirecutter had some good reviews of electronic backup systems. I'll find and link. ETA https://thewirecutter.com/reviews/how-to-back-up-your-computer/ ETA again I have found the app Scanner Pro to be a lifesaver. It was set an iPhone or iPad camera to create PDFs of documents. I often use it for shorter documents, especially when I am out of the house. Edited March 24, 2018 by Alessandra 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fraidycat Posted March 24, 2018 Share Posted March 24, 2018 Yes, Freedom Filer. I posted about it recently. I love it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.